DeHaat is in talks to raise $100 million and might become India’s first agritech unicorn
- ByStartupStory | September 24, 2022
Agritech business from Patna is in discussions to raise its Series E round with a pre-money valuation of $900 million, according to reports Following the funding round, DeHaat’s valuation is anticipated to exceed $1 billion. The fundraising round will enable Sequoia-supported businesses to surpass Ninjacart, an agricultural technology startup backed by Flipkart, in terms of valuation. An international private equity firm is among the potential investors in Bihar-based DeHaat, an agricultural technology startup that is seeking to fund close to $100 million. DeHaat may surpass $1 billion in post-money valuation as a result of the investment round, becoming the first agritech unicorn in the nation.
Ninjacart, an agricultural technology firm sponsored by Sequoia and Flipkart, will benefit from the fundraiser in terms of results. In the past, Ninjacart was valued at $812M.As of the publication of this article, Shashank Kumar, co-founder and CEO of DeHaat, had not responded to a thorough query regarding the startup’s Series E funding.
Following its Series D financing in October of last year, DeHaat was last valued at $500 million to $550 million. The Belgian investment firm Sofina and Lightrock India spearheaded a fundraising round that saw the agritech startup raise $115 million. The funding round, which also included Sequoia Capital India, Prosus Ventures, Temasek Holdings of Singapore, and FMO, was the biggest one ever received by an agritech business at the time.
Notably, DeHaat, which has its headquarters in Patna, reportedly fired 100 workers this month. In contrast to media accounts, Kumar claimed that the layoffs were a remedial measure and that the number was not in the triple digits. The CEO of DeHaat told Moneycontrol that the business has hired more than 1,000 staff members over the previous 14 to 15 months.DeHaat now employs 1,116 people, according to the business networking website LinkedIn.
Amrendra Singh, Shyam Sundar, Adarsh Srivastav, and Kumar founded DeHaat in 2012 to offer farmers a full range of agricultural services, including the distribution of high-quality agricultural inputs, customised agricultural consulting, access to financial services, and market connections for the sale of their produce.
For last-mile deliveries, the business has established a rural retail network of more than 3,000 DeHaat micro-entrepreneurs. More than 650,000 farmers in Bihar, UP, Jharkhand, and Odisha are allegedly served by it.
Additionally, DeHaat has so far acquired four companies. The business bought a 75% stake in Bengaluru-based startup YCook, which produces processed foods, in April of this year. Helicrofter, a marketplace for agricultural inputs, was previously bought by it. Helicrofter’s acquisition, according to DeHaat, will enable the business to expand into Maharashtra and other western Indian states.
DeHaat purchased the FarmGuide B2B SaaS platform in 2019 to build a full-stack platform for Indian farmers and agribusinesses. To increase the number of farmers utilising its platform, the company recently bought Veezamart, a platform that creates farm management solutions for farmers. By 2025, the agritech market in India is expected to reach $24.1 billion, according to a report by Inc42. Other well-known agritech startups in the nation include Waycool, Agrostar, and Arya.org.
AgroStar was last valued at $235M, whereas Waycool was valued at $375M. Following its most recent Series C round, in which it raised $60 million in the capital, Arya.org’s valuation reached the $300 million threshold.
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